Sanctuary for Black Gods

Menu

The Melanin by Kay Ann Henry

The Black race is so magical
and it really shows how wonderful God is
He made us in different shapes, sizes and hues
The pigment of our skin was never an issue
Yes we were once segregated but color was never the problem
It was about wealth and power until someone brought up the tint of our skin
They enslaved us with this mindset and now some of us adapted it too
Our ancestors wouldn’t like this
They would not be proud
Of this colorism that exists
They taught us that lighter is better
That your dark skin is not suitable
They slander us for our features yet they lust after it
This systematic thinking has our men slandering us too
But I’m here to declare that this must not happen
We can’t let it be true
Black men and women are synonyms
We are carved in the same beauty
and without one, the other can’t exist
So my people, let’s not conform to their standards
Let’s appreciate the melanin we were born with
No matter the shade
Light-skinned, dark-skinned- doesn’t matter
We’re all comprised of mahogany, ebony, caramel, chestnut, coffee and sienna
We can be as dark as the midnight sky
or brown like honey
There is history etched into our skin
Not just slavery, but years of excellence and grace
We are reminiscent of the chocolate that warms cold nights
And we have stars tucked neatly under our bones
We are Black
That means we represent depth, strength, elegance and nobleness
We are Black
That means we are light-filled
Let’s not let the glaring whiteness replace the beauty we have.